4person

I'm sure almost eveyone who's ever skated regionals/nationals has been in this situation before..About a month or 2 before regionals everyone starts to hate everyone because there is 5 or 6 people fighting for a spot on a 4 person relay. 4man or 4girl, it really doesn't matter, for whatever reason people HAVE to be on the top 4person. Then someone gets left off, someone makes it.. then they hate each other. Their parents hate each other. Everyone on the team pretty much takes sides. A lot of times one person is basically isolated from the group. Then they get to nationals and realize they actually have to skate the race. They soon figure out that they were so worried about beating the people on their own team, they forgot to get ready to beat people on other teams. The skaters that didn't make the relay team get to sit back and say "i told you so" and "if i was on the team i would have...". Basically 4 persons for whatever reason tear a club apart. And i guess I do understand the competitive part of it, no one wants to not be one of the top 4 people on their club. However, it just seems to me like 4persons are really good for one or 2 clubs, and bad for all the other clubs.

Don't get me wrong.. I don't think 4persons are completely bad. Watching them is super exciting. Also, some of my most memorable races have been 4man races(or should that be 4men races.. o well). The first year we won, with myself, Harry, Matt Halbreich and Brandon Andrews; a race we dedicated to Johnny Patterson months after he and his father died in a car crash, is still my most favorite race I ever skated. And no offence to that sick federal way team, any of frenchtowns team, or any other team that's ever won, there was no team that was going to beat us that year. Last year was pretty cool, getting up after a fall and winning, missing the record by only a second(we'd fallin in the final 3 straight years). I won 4man with 3guys, then a whole new 3guys.

Basically where I'm going with all of this; after last year I told anyone that would listen that I was done with 4man. And i'm still at like 90% sure that I'm not skating 4man this year. I think piedmont still has a better chance than anyone of winning it, with or without me skating. I kinda wanted to split teams this year and see if we could get first and second, but with chad switching teams, that seems unlikely. The main thing that would make me want to skate the race again is if they made it first at nationals. Think about how much more exciting 4persons were when they were before division. Now it seems like everyone just wants to get them over with. Maybe someone important will read my blog and say to them self.. you know 4persons were exciting first.. and they'll move them around by next year(ps i know why they're at the end now, and it does save people money).

Ok that was my ode to 4person relays.. Next is the story of how i got sick... Ok talk to you guys soon...